Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Burning Flame is indeed the greatest ace of the Fiery Holy Rat Clan. It’s said that when this Lifebound Fire of the Fiery Holy Rat Clan is cultivated to its utmost power, it is almost on par with the Phoenix Fire of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix.

However, the Burning Flame within each Fiery Holy Rat is limited, much like the Life Essence Blood of humans. If too much is lost, it could greatly affect their cultivation foundation.

Therefore, every Fiery Holy Rat is extremely cautious when using the Burning Flame; they cannot completely exhaust it and always leave behind a Burning Flame Seed to cultivate more Burning Flame.

Chi Yan’s exceptional talent allowed him to cultivate the Burning Flame while still in the Earth Rank Third Realm, which was unprecedented in the Fiery Holy Rat Clan, making him exceptionally endowed.

This also allowed Chi Yan to fight across ranks while at a low rank. After all, other Fire Cloud Rats could not possess the Burning Flame until they became Fiery Holy Rats.

When Yun Xiao first saw Chi Yan unleash the Burning Flame, he was utterly shocked, as it was vastly different from what he knew about the Fiery Holy Rat Clan.

But no matter how you look at it, Chi Yan is only at the level of a Low Level Holy Grade Sky Demon. Under the assault of so many human Heavenly Realm experts, he suffered quite a few internal injuries.

Earlier, he forcibly spat out a mouthful of Burning Flame, reducing a Heavenly Realm Late Stage human cultivator to ashes. Now, facing the attack of that elder again, he is undoubtedly feeling rather powerless.

Swish!

Chi Yan endured his internal injuries and struggled to spit out another mouthful of Burning Flame, but it was easily dodged by the prepared human elder, which left him both furious and helpless.

After all, Chi Yan’s earlier rapid kill was only because he caught the opponent off guard. Against human cultivators stronger than him, he could not easily use the Burning Flame effectively again.

Moreover, as the old man said, the Burning Flame is the Lifebound Fire of a Fiery Holy Rat and cannot be spat out many times, especially since Chi Yan is only a Low Level Holy Grade Sky Demon.

After spitting out two mouthfuls of Burning Flame, Chi Yan felt dizzy and almost fainted even without the human elder’s further attack, which made him feel despair.

”Haha, the Fire Cloud Rat is finally mine, Yu Tang’s!”

Seeing the Fire Cloud Rat that spat out the second mouthful of Burning Flame, with its attack power greatly reduced, the human elder named Yu Tang was ecstatic, even bursting into laughter.

He was already the only Heavenly Realm Late Stage expert present, and among the remaining human cultivators, the strongest was only at the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage. In Yu Tang’s view, no one else had the power to compete with him.

Just thinking about refining this Fire Cloud Rat and enhancing his strength, possibly even greatly boosting his fire attribute, Yu Tang was filled with excitement.

Whoosh...

However, as Yu Tang turned his palm into a claw, intending to capture Chi Yan, his attempt ultimately fell short, leaving him puzzled and his expression turning ominously somber.

”Who dares to snatch what belongs to Yu Tang? Are you tired of living?”

Seeing the fiery red rat being drawn back several zhang by some force, Yu Tang was infuriated and shouted angrily.

This was a human territory, and particularly a remote area of the Northern Domain, where Heavenly Realm level cultivators were rare. Yu Tang immediately thought someone was trying to steal the Fire Cloud Rat, which was almost in his grasp.

But as a Heavenly Realm Late Stage expert, Yu Tang was quite confident in his own strength. He believed very few in this region could be his match, so he wasn’t overly concerned.

Chi Yan, who had been despairing, suddenly found himself moving backward uncontrollably, initially delighted and then surprised.

Chi Yan, with his considerable intelligence, immediately thought, like Yu Tang, that another human cultivator was attempting to snatch him away from the old man’s grasp.

If this were the case, Chi Yan believed his fate wouldn’t change much; at most, he’d just fall from one human enemy’s hands into another’s.

”Hmm? This aura...”

However, as this thought passed through Chi Yan’s mind, he suddenly sensed an extremely familiar presence within the aura drawing him back several zhang. It seemed to resonate from deep within his bloodline.

Although uncertain what that aura was, in that moment, Chi Yan realized things might not be as simple as he imagined.

This strange aura that stirred his bloodline was not something an ordinary human could produce. It might truly change his current predicament.

”Who is that?”

In that moment, those human cultivators watching from afar finally saw a thin, small figure dressed in a bright red robe appear at the side of the Fire Cloud Rat.

The person had a short stature, with a face that seemed quite small, as if the features were squeezed together, and two slanted rat whiskers at the corners of the lips. There was a peculiar gleam flashing in those small eyes, resembling soybeans.

In fact, these human cultivators all harbored some covetous intentions toward Chi Yan, but since Yu Tang had acted first earlier, and seeing the situation change now, they did not rush into action, seemingly wanting to see the outcome first.

In everyone’s impression, the short man standing beside the Fire Cloud Rat was someone they hadn’t seen throughout their pursuit journey, appearing to be another person hiding in the shadows to seize an easy gain.

However, compared to those human cultivators who were farther away, Yu Tang, who was about to grasp the Fire Cloud Rat, was naturally furious. His old face turned ashen with anger, glaring at the short man with eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent.

Due to his anger, Yu Tang even forgot to sense the true cultivation level of the short man. He assumed, by default, that in this remote Northern Domain, there were very few who could surpass him.

”No matter who you are, you will die today!”

Driven by greed for the Fire Cloud Rat, Yu Tang was determined not to give up no matter what. With a cold snort, his body emitted a thick fire attribute aura, appearing quite imposing.

”Hmph, just a mere Heavenly Realm Late Stage human daring to covet the Holy Descendant of the Fiery Holy Rat Clan, simply courting death!”

Yet just after Yu Tang finished speaking, a cold snort was heard from the short man’s mouth, and everyone gasped after hearing the meaning in his words.

”Fiery Holy Rat Clan? Holy Descendant?”

These two keywords stunned everyone. At this moment, they clearly realized that the short-statured man was not truly human but a strong member of the Fiery Holy Rat Clan.

When a Vein Demon expert identified himself using the human form in front of you, the answer became apparent because a Vein Demon without breaking through to the Holy Demon level couldn’t possibly possess a human form.

”Holy Demon...”

Thinking of this possibility, many human cultivators felt their legs go weak, suddenly realizing they might have provoked a colossal entity and could lose their lives here today.

These cultivators of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud North Domain, though not having broken through to the Holy Vein Three Realms, knew quite a bit about some legends in the Vein Demon regions.

If the Fire Cloud Rat they had been pursuing earlier was just a rat with ordinary bloodline, perhaps it wouldn’t have brought them trouble.

But now, when the words ”Holy Descendant” came out of the Fiery Holy Rat expert’s mouth, they understood that this matter couldn’t end well, and today not a single person here could leave the dense forest alive.

”You... you... are really from the Fiery Holy Rat Clan?”

Compared to those human cultivators filled with uncertainty, Chi Yan’s feelings at this moment were undoubtedly more complicated, with a strong sense of doubt in his voice.

Chi Yan knew he belonged to the Fiery Holy Rat Clan, but since birth, he had never met his parents, surviving on his own in the Yurong Mountain of Hidden Dragon Continent until he later met Yun Xiao.

Since then, Chi Yan regarded himself as an orphan without parents, considering only Brother Yun Xiao, who depended on him for survival, as his sole family.

Yet now, this guy who appeared out of nowhere claimed to belong to the Fiery Holy Rat Clan and even called him a ”Holy Descendant” of that clan, leaving Chi Yan momentarily unable to process it.

”Little Holy..., well, let’s take care of these human ants first!”

The short man turned his head, seeming about to say something, but then sensed many human cultivators around and immediately put on a stern face, turning his gaze back to Yu Tang and the others.

”Uhm... Respected elder of the Fiery Holy Rat Clan, this is truly a misunderstanding. We will leave at once!”

Under the sharp gaze of that short man, Yu Tang felt his heart skip a beat. Facing a Vein Demon expert who might be a Holy Demon, no matter how confident he was, he could not dare easily confront him.

Swish!

Yu Tang’s reaction was swift. He knew this might be his last chance, so as soon as he spoke, without waiting for the short man’s response, his Meridian Qi surged, attempting to escape from the dangerous depths of the dense forest.

”Hmph, you’ve bullied the Holy Descendant of my Fiery Holy Rat Clan, and you still dream of leaving alive, truly dreaming!”

Just as Yu Tang darted out several dozen feet, a cold hum echoed behind, causing his heart, like Chi Yan’s earlier, to sink into the abyss instantly.